LAST CHANCE: LEWIS HAMILTON FACES 2026 "MAKE OR BREAK" SEASON AT FERRARI NOW
After a podium-less 2025, Lewis Hamilton enters his "final chance" year at Ferrari. Discover the 2026 engine testing results.
After a terrible 2025, pressure's on for Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari to get results in 2026. He even hinted he should be replaced after a rough season.
That comment came after he got knocked out in Q2 at the Hungarian GP, showing how bummed out the seven-time champ was. It was a bad start at Ferrari, and it just got worse after the summer break.
Getting knocked out in Q1 and having no race pace meant Hamilton didn't get a single podium all season, a first in his career. It wasn't what he thought he was signing up for in Maranello.
He wanted a fresh start, but Hamilton's first season felt like Alain Prost getting sacked in 1991. He wasn't as public with his criticism as Prost, but Ferrari will lose patience if he doesn't deliver in 2026.
Actually, it seems like they already are. Hamilton's on his 'last chance' at Ferrari, with his contract supposedly ending in 2026, and Oliver Bearman might take his place.
So, it is a very important year for him and the team. The 2026 F1 rules are a new challenge and maybe a good thing for Hamilton after struggling during the aerodynamics era.
Lewis Hamilton should be happy because Ferrari's 2026 engine is doing 'great' in testing.
Right now, no one knows how good each team's engines will be in 2026. People think Mercedes will have the fastest, but they're trying to downplay that.
Ferrari started working on 2026 early to get a jump on development and give Hamilton and Charles Leclerc the best shot from the start.
We won't know how they perform until the car hits the track, but it sounds like things are going well in Maranello. According to Funoanalisitecnica, Ferrari's hybrid part of the engine is doing 'very well' in testing.
The MGU-K had 'great energy recovery,' hitting the 'exact levels set before it was built.' It looks like Ferrari is meeting their goals, which should be good news for Hamilton.
For sure, Ferrari can't compare itself to others yet. But with the 'very good signs' coming from the factory, Hamilton has a reason to be excited before what might be his last season in F1.
Is Ferrari starting to listen to Lewis Hamilton before 2026?
Riccardo Patrese says Hamilton needs a good car at Ferrari, or he'll struggle in 2026. The team didn't give him what he needed in 2025, even though he asked for changes.
The Brit tried to get Ferrari to change how they do things behind the scenes with documents. But they didn't listen, and he struggled all year.
But things might change, since Ferrari grabbed two people from Mercedes for their 2026 project. It looks like they're finally listening to Hamilton and making the changes he wanted.
Of course, Hamilton has to do his part, too. He's been with Ferrari for a year now—he can't get left behind.
LANDO NORRIS SINGLE: F1 CHAMPION CONFIRMS SPLIT FROM MAGUI CORCEIRO IN LEAKED VIDEO
F1 heartbreak: Analyse Lando Norris's split from Magui Corceiro, the "single man" leak, and their on-off relationship history.
Looks like Formula One world champion Lando Norris and his supermodel girlfriend, Magui Corceiro, have split up. The two started dating in 2023 and had a pretty on-and-off thing. She was right there with him when he won the title in Abu Dhabi – definitely an emotional night for both of them.
But now, it seems like it’s over. According to the Sun, a TikTok video caught Norris telling Carlos Sainz Jr that he’s “a single man". The audio’s not great, but you can hear Sainz asking if he and Magui are okay, and Lando just says, “No,” then adds that he’s single. This happened during pre-season testing in Bahrain while the drivers were getting their photos taken.
Magui, who’s also an actress from Portugal, used to date footballer Joao Felix before Lando. She and Norris broke up in 2024 and got back together, but it looks like they’ve called it quits again. People close to them say there’ve been signs for a while; things changed after Lando’s big championship win. The most obvious clue? Magui wasn’t at Lando’s big thank-you party in Bahrain, even though everyone else was there. Naturally, that got people talking.
Back in December, Magui broke down in tears after Norris won the world championship. She gave an interview to TV Guia, saying how happy they both were and how, in that moment, she forgot about the cameras. It all seemed pretty solid then.
Magui’s got a huge social following – around 800,000 fans on TikTok – and she’s done everything from acting in Portuguese dramas to modelling for brands like Intimissimi and Alo Yoga. She was even on Portugal’s Dancing with the Stars in 2020 and co-founded the eco swimwear brand Missus. She’s graced Vogue Portugal, too.
Norris himself talked about Magui in Vogue, saying they met a few years ago but only got together more recently. He called her “down to earth” and said he can just be himself around her. Apparently, he kept trying to get her into golf, but she hated it.
Neither of them has officially announced the breakup, but at this point, it looks like they’ve gone their separate ways.
DISASTER WARNING: OSCAR PIASTRI FEARS 2026 RACE STARTS COULD LEAD TO MULTI-CAR GRID ACCIDENTS
Oscar Piastri warns of chaos at the 2026 start! Discover why the new rules are a "recipe for disaster" and how McLaren found "warp speed."
Oscar Piastri thinks there’s a lot of luck involved in getting a good start these days. Pre-season testing in Bahrain really made it clear that these new 2026 F1 rules have turned race starts into a much bigger headache.
He’s spoken up about this before, especially since so many teams and drivers are running into fresh problems under the new regs. The big one? F1 dropped the MGU-H from the engine formula, and suddenly, starts just aren’t as smooth. It’s a mess.
After last week’s first official test in Bahrain, Piastri didn’t sugarcoat it. He called the 2026 start a “recipe for disaster” because of how wildly different every driver’s launch is. Even the FIA and F1 noticed, so they decided to test out a longer starting procedure during the second test.
Here’s what they did: during the second test, they delayed the starting lights, giving drivers more time to spool up their turbos. Ferrari’s 2026 engine features a smaller turbo, allowing its drivers to maintain lower revs for longer periods. Others? They’re sitting there for up to ten seconds, just waiting.
Piastri says the new procedures and the extra week of testing in Bahrain helped a bit; things aren’t quite as all over the place now. But he’s honest: there’s still a ton of luck involved if you want to get a clean launch and avoid turbo lag or wheelspin.
Holding high revs to prime the turbo, now that the MGU-H is gone, is just one of the traps drivers can fall into. Piastri figures it’s going to take a while before all 22 drivers on the grid are nailing their starts every time.
He summed it up at the press conference in Bahrain: “Mine yesterday wasn’t so bad. I was last, but I also overtook four cars. There’s still a lot of luck involved, and we’re learning what makes a good start and what makes a bad one.
“There are a few pitfalls you can run into that cause problems. Managing the energy and the whole procedure – that’s one thing.
“The way we start is just totally different from last year. It’s trickier across the board. Some drivers are handling it; some just aren’t.”
On the other hand, McLaren looked like they were getting the hang of it by the last day of testing. Jolyon Palmer, watching from the sidelines, was impressed by Piastri’s practice start but even more blown away by Lando Norris.
Palmer thought McLaren had cracked the code. On Friday, Piastri shot off the line in the morning, but Norris outdid everyone in the final session. Palmer joked that Norris hit “warp speed".
He said on the F1 broadcast, “Warp speed, see you mate! That’s a brilliant start from Lando. McLaren is there. I’ve seen it all day. Oscar got a great start. In the pit lane, it looks good.
“I’d love to see that next to the Ferrari, honestly, because it’s really impressive. Their start is much better than Red Bull’s. I’d say it’s even better than Mercedes.”